The Happiest You’ll Be on Vacation Is Hour 43

We just got back from the Great Nooga Escape — rock climbing, an underground waterfall, kayaking, and two wide-eyed kids who didn't want to go home. But here's what I kept thinking about the whole trip: there's research showing that vacation happiness peaks at hour 43. After that, the novelty fades, the mind drifts back to Monday, and you're physically present but mentally somewhere else. In this episode, I unpack what that data actually means — and why it has nothing to do with vacation logistics and everything to do with how we're wired for presence, meaning, and joy. We talk about hedonic adaptation, why shorter trips work better than longer ones, and what our family's four-day travel philosophy taught me about the gap between the life we're waiting to live and the one available right now. If you've ever come home from a trip feeling like you needed a vacation from your vacation — this one's for you.